Austrian EV company electrifies Porsche racecar

VIENNA -- Three Austrian brothers have reworked a limited-edition Porsche racecar model to run on electricity.

Kreisel Electricplans to sell the EVEX 910e for 1 million euros ($1.1 million), the company said.

The car has a range of 350 km (218 miles) and accelerates from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 2.5 seconds.

The original model Porsche 910 race car that appeared in the film ran on gasoline.

"With the first purchasable electronic Kreisel car, our company is entering into a new phase," Markus Kreisel, the middle sibling and managing director of the company, said in a statement. "In contrast to the historical original by Porsche, this is licensed for the use on public roads."

Working out of a three-door garage, the Kreisel brothers -- Johann, Markus and Philipp -- are making battery packs and drivetrains for a new generation of plug-in cars, boats and airplanes. Pitching themselves as "E-Mobility Maniacs" at trade shows, they have convinced established car companies to visit them in Freistadt, 200 km northwest of Vienna, to test drive their creations.

The Porsche finished in sixth place in the 1967 World Sportscar Championship, a grueling 24-hour race that took place 200 kilometers southwest of Paris, according to the statement.

Kreisel said it's working with EVEX Fahrzeugbau, a German manufacturer of classic automobiles based outside of Dusseldorf, to make the car. The Austrian team developed new cooling and transmission technologies. Kreisel is selling the car's transmission as a standalone product, according to the statement.

Kreisel Electric burst onto the Austrian and German automobile scene last year with a reworked Porsche Panamera that outperformed Tesla's flagship Model S on some measures. The Austrian company says its patented laser-welding and thermal-cooling techniques give them an edge over Tesla because the method preserves the full power of the lithium ion cells.

In January, former California governor and Austrian-born actor Arnold Schwarzenegger began trialing a Mercedes G 350 SUV retrofitted by Kreisel to run on electricity.

Photo

The Kreisel brothers say they are obsessed with electric motors as "the most efficient form of propulsion." Pictured are Phillip, left, Johann, middle, and Markus, right.

Because only about 35 of the original Porsche 910 frames were ever built, Kreisel will only produce "very limited quantities" of the model, spokesman Martin Lettner said. Production will begin next year.

Kreisel announced its first order last year to deliver as many as 2,000 electric powertrains and battery packs to VDL Groep in the Netherlands for Mercedes Sprinter minibuses.